Update aug. 2006
Water baptism
Vagn
Rasmussen
Water baptism.
Jesus
said: John 3:5. Verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a man is born of WATER and of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into
the
The
baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Mark
1:9 and it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan,
Every
believer is called to follow after Jesus Christ. Jesus is our great example. As
Disciples of Christ, we need to follow Him even in water baptism and in the
same manner, which is full immersion. Jesus was baptized in a place of the
Jesus
commanded the disciples (and all believers after them) to do the same thing:
Mark
16:15-16 and He said unto them, go yea into all the world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature, v16. He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved, but he that believes not shall be damned. V17 and these signs shall
follow them that believe, in my name shall they cast out devils, they shall
speak with new tongues…..
Baptism
on the day of Pentecost:
Acts
2:38 then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost.
Conversion
must take place before Water baptism. The sins of the candidate must be
confessed and forgiven before the act of water baptism.
Water
baptism is not for salvation but a covenant of good conscience. 1.Peter 3:21
the rebirth happens through repentance, not through immersion.
Being
“born again” is a spiritual act of God, not a physical act of man.
Examples
of baptism in the bible:
Baptism
of the Eunuch. Acts 8:38-39. and he commanded the chariot to stand still and
they went down both into the water both Philip and the Eunuch, and he baptized
him, v39. And when they were come up, the Spirit of the Lord caught away
Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
The
keeper of the prison. Acts 16:25-33 verse 33 especially
The
house of Cornelio. Acts 10:47.
Exhortation
and teaching on the baptism:
In
the baptism the old life, the flesh is buried. Waterbaptism is a symbolic act
of burial and resurrection.
Colossians
2:12 buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through
the faith of the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead.
Romans
6:4. Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the Glory of the Father, even so we
should walk in newness of life.
Baptism
is not the cleansing of the body but a covenant of a good conscience toward
God.
1.
Peter 3:21. …whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Baptism
is to be received only one time.
Ephesians
4:5. One Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM…..
The
baptism shall not be confirmed, say a special celebration, or confirmation
feast.
Water
sprinkling of infants cannot be accepted as a biblical baptism.
Why
being baptized?
Jesus
clearly commanded us to baptize the born again believers.
Mathew
28:19-20. Go yea therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, verse 20. Teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…….
When
being baptized?
As
soon as the candidate truly is borne again and saved and is confessing Jesus
Christ as Lord, he can be baptized. In the book of acts, we find that people
were baptized immediately after their salvation.
Read
also:
Acts
8: 36-37 …about the eunuch of
Acts
10: 47-48… Cornelio
Acts
16: 33 … the prison keeper in
A
person to be baptized must have a personal faith in Jesus Christ as Son of God
and truly be his Savior and Lord. This is a baptism for believers only. For
this reason infants and small children should not be baptized, as they have
neither the need nor the ability to believe.
The
Bible is not claiming certain maturity or a certain time of trial to be
conditional.
How
to be baptized?
After
the true biblical baptism the candidates are fully immersed. Baptism could take
place in the open air in a place with sufficient water. Some churches have a
special basin holding enough water for full immersion.
Some
churches supply a white robe that the candidates are wearing during the
ceremony of baptism. A special baptism robe is not obligatory. The whole Church
is partaking and the ceremony is a day of feast.
Those
who are baptized are now welcomed as new church members added unto the church.
Normally
it is the pastor or maybe one of the elders that are baptizing.
The
pastor or some leading elders are teaching the candidates previous to the
baptism ceremony on the subject of Baptism.
How
to baptize:
After
the candidate has confessed his/hers faith in Jesus Christ, he or she will go
into the water together with the one who is baptizing. After a short prayer for
the candidate the one who baptizes will say:” I baptize you …………(the name of
the candidate) on your own believe and on your own confession, I baptize you to
Christ Jesus, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Notice,
the candidates are not baptized to an organization, they are not baptized IN
the name of Jesus Christ. The ritual is: I baptize you TO Christ Jesus, in the
name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Afterwards
the newly baptized is prayed for and welcomed into the congregation as true
members.
The
church should issue a document, a written evidence, that the candidate now has
received biblical baptism.
In
the ancient church, children were not baptized. The first two – three centuries
after Christ some churches began to baptize some children and with full
immersion in cold water. Slowly churches began to practice water sprinkling.
Finally the Roman church ended up in baptizing all children. The Lutheran
church and many evangelical churches followed the same practice. Membership and
salvation were now included in the baptism. Conversion was no more necessary to
be member of the Church..
Baptism
should be administered without charge.